Writing in a Pandemic, Roman Britain & Tracking Thutmose’s Tomb

From My Fantasy Writing Desk

Writing fiction in the midst of a surreal pandemic is more than a little disorienting, although perhaps I am already so disoriented that my writing is only part of a larger mental meltdown. Despite that, I have been productive with my writing, for which I send out many thank you’s to the universe. What else is there to do—and writing is nothing if not socially distancing.

I did find myself getting anxious when a character actively sought physical contact within a large group setting. I had to remind myself they are fictional characters who can do whatever they like in that regard. Coincidentally, one of my plot threads has the characters dealing with a mysterious illness that is spreading without their understanding of why or how to stop it. The parallels with the psychology of the crisis in the “real” world are enlightening, but physical distancing isn’t a strategy that would ever occur to them, and in this case, it wouldn’t solve the problem anyway. There’s magic afoot, dark magic. They’ll sort it out. That’s the point of throwing terrible things at one’s fictional characters. It makes for good stories.

But I could do with a lot less anxious crisis in the real world around me. The grocery store felt apocalyptic with empty shelves and frightened customers scurrying past each other at a distance and carts filled with whatever random items they could still purchase.

I’m grateful for all I have. My husband and I can wait this out together. In addition to each other’s company, we have food and a house and various mentally enjoyable activities. We’re healthy. Plenty to be thankful for. I won’t complain. I will try to feel like the world hasn’t turned upside down, even if it has.

Archaeology I Enjoyed

Vindolanda’s Top Treasures

Looking for historical entertainment? Fascinating escape? Here’s the Vindolanda website, Roman Britain period. Lively, brief discussion of their top finds with photos. Among other startlingly vivid objects, there’s a complete sword in scabbard, a child’s shoe, a wooden hut used by the pre-Roman population, and a letter written in ink on wood by the person responsible for the first two forts built there. Oh, and a fully preserved toilet seat and leather boxing gloves, neither of which should have survived, but there they are. Click here for Vindolanda website “Top 10 Finds of the Decade”

Getting Close to Thutmose

Narrowing in on Thutmose II’s tomb? Indications are a yes, with a recent find of a chest bearing Thutmose’s name in the middle of the royal cemetery at Deir el-Bahari in Upper Egypt. This “royal deposit” indicates that a tomb for him was founded in this nearby area. The chest contains a sacrificed goose and egg along with other artifacts wrapped in linen. Thutmose II was Hatshepsut’s husband and father of Thutmose III. Click here for Archaeology Magazine “Are Egyptologists Close to Finding a Pharaoh’s Intact Tomb?”